


Cure

by A_Hippo_Named_Saelym (Kairacahra1869)



Series: Do it for Josh, He deserves it [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Flashbacks, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Josh Appreciation Week (Detroit: Become Human), Light Angst, Sad!North, Slightly Introspective, and Josh has the long arms perfect for the job, just when we thought we were done with that, recollections, she needs a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-21 01:22:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18135104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kairacahra1869/pseuds/A_Hippo_Named_Saelym
Summary: Josh learns to hope through the success of his oldest friend.Day 6 Josh Appreciation Week: Hope





	Cure

**Author's Note:**

> So y'all know how Connor hijacked this week in the middle of it? Well, North apparently decided she wanted in on that. Except, surprisingly, she was much more gentle in her approach.
> 
> Slightly longer, but not as much as Connor and, I have to say, I think this is my favourite one of the entire series.
> 
> The song playing in the background at the beginning is Wake Up in the Sky by Gucci Mane. I love the song for Bruno Mars on the chorus and I had it on repeat the entire time I wrote this. It has nothing to do with the plot.

There’s music playing, a station playing throwbacks to the 2010s, 2020s, and Now. Currently, a 2018 released song croons about watching the singer fly because he knows he’s super fly. The singer sounds nice and the chorus seems somewhat uplifting, but, like most human songs from that era, the entire song is riddled with posturing men arrogantly bragging about their wealth, the women they’ve worked through like a deck of cards, and irresponsible drinking and drug use. Josh sits in a private room in a bar outside the hotel he and Connor are currently staying at. It’s their turn to speak to the human representatives. This week’s negotiations are for reinstating androids into their old jobs, pay, and protection against discrimination in their workplace. Markus has no wish to return to his old job. There’s been whispers and rumours of him becoming the first Android Representative of a State and, while Markus hasn’t sad anything about this to any of them, Josh has a feeling that he isn’t completely against the idea. Regardless, he’s been taking his role as representative of androids very seriously and has been interacting with more big-name politicians and inquiring about the other regions of Michigan, considering both android and human struggles. In a few years, Josh could definitely see Markus campaigning and he has Josh’s support, should he remain static in his approach and speeches.

Josh had been worried about North, considering her past “job” and the trauma she continues to deal with due to her past. When he and Connor had approached her and Markus with the idea, she had remained quiet throughout their proposal and then left the room, without so much as a huff. With a single glance between the three remaining men, it was unanimously and silently agreed that Josh should be the one to go after her.

When Josh had found her, and his heart still clenches with the recollection, she hadn’t been raging as he had expected. He entered her room and she didn’t get in his face and spit at him for following her. She didn’t even seem to register him, sat in between her bed and the wall, completely silent with her LED a steady red. Steady streams of tears fell down her face, but other than that, she was completely still. Her face was placid, but her eyes were dulled and her jaw was clenched. Josh almost panicked and went to touch her to get some kind of reaction, any kind of reaction, but then he noticed the slightest tremble in her fingers, and recalled coming across students in the past, who had so much bottled up and, instead of exploding with it, when they reached their breaking point they just… shut down.

So Josh hadn’t touched her. He didn’t enter her personal space, choosing to, instead, carefully, shuffle a box on the opposite side of the bed and carefully sat on it, facing the same wall North was facing. He didn’t try to communicate with her, didn’t attempt to open up a mental channel, but, worried that the silence might keep her under for too long, he hummed slightly, just a stupid song about posturing men bragging about wealth, his sex life, and drugs.

Eventually, he heard her make a sound, a gut-clenching shudder of breath, wet with tears, and then her shuffling towards him. He didn’t move a muscle when she shuffled in front of him, her LED, thankfully, no longer red but running yellow, but when she opened her arms and shuffled closer, he shifted so that she could slot between his arms and waited until she looped her arms around him to return the hold. This was his first time witnessing her crying, for real, but instead of loud angry gasps or wails, she was still mostly silent, whimpering every once in a while, and hiccupping as her body shuddered with powerful sobs.

Josh continued to hum and eventually, she shook so much that he carefully swept her into his lap and held her all the closer, but not tight. He made sure to keep his arms in positions where she could easily get out and not once tried to place his hands on her head, something she had admitted to him when they first met, that reminds her too much of human men in her past.

Eventually, she had cried herself out and Josh had softly apologised for triggering her unintentionally. She had sat herself up, her eyes downcast and their arms still lopped loosely around each other, and her LED blinked blue intermittently with yellow to signify she was thinking. Then she had looked Josh into his eyes, gently placed a hand on his shoulder and told him to go through with his and Connor’s proposal, show the humans that Androids are doing this for them and not to fit human whims, and, finally, to give them hell.

She didn’t explain to him what it was that caused this reaction and he didn’t even think of asking her, but before he left the room after they had detangled but still sat close to each other, Josh offered to buy her one of those bubbly thirium drinks she likes so much. She punches him, lightly, and admonishes him for calling them something so soft and fluffy sounding when they were actually “angry” drinks. But she does agree to it.

Which brings him to the present, almost a month later, sitting in this private space, window open to keep away any claustrophobia, and drinks already prepared. North is running late, because of course, she is, but Josh isn’t upset or worried. It gives him time to appreciate the atmosphere, the relative calm of the moment, before the inevitable storm that is North comes rushing in with her larger than life personality and unapologetic mannerisms. And speak of the she-devil, the door slams open and she barges in, military grade boots clacking heavily on the linoleum floor, and dress struggling to keep up with her as it flutters widely around and behind her. She had clipped a letterman jacket to her dress straps and whips the jacket out like a cape.

Josh feels self-conscious in his “professor” attire of a sweater vest, long sleeved shirt, khakis, and loafers. He envies North and her ability to just put together something and make it hers. He can’t seem to look good in anything that isn’t “ Dr Professor” or “hipster college student”.

“Josh! Wears the scarf I leant you? You said you’d return it to me!” She pulls down the collar of his shirt as if that would suddenly make the scarf appear.

“And I told you, North, that I would once we were back at New Jericho.” He gestures to their current place. “This, and this may come as a surprise, is not New Jericho.”

“I can tag it and make it a property of New Jericho.”

“That’s not how that works, and please do not deface this building. It’s one of the few places that encourages our people to give it business and I’d rather not lose that respect and trust.”

She sits down next to him, making a show of wiggling to make room for herself, practically pushing Josh against the wall, as if she weren’t the size of a stick and barely reached his chest. Josh let her get away with it, used to it, and slid a drink to her.

“I feel like you’re looking at this from the wrong angle, my droid. If I put the symbol of our people all over this restaurant, it’ll boost attraction and give them more business!” She shakes the bottle and Josh shoves her away from him just as she opens it, the drink fizzing explosively and splattering all over her. She laughs gleefully and chugs it as it’s still frothing. Josh judges her overtly, but silently.

“That’s still considered vandalism.”

“Vandalism, schmandalism, it would be art done by the Lady of Jericho herself, they would and, should be, grateful.” She then starts to gesture in the air, explaining what she would draw and where and imagining the responses and the gratitude and Josh can’t help but think that this moment, and similar moments, is what they all had been, are still currently, fighting for. Just a month ago, he had held her as she silently relived her trauma. Several weeks before that moment, she had jumped on top of him and the others in unfiltered joy as a law was passed to release all androids in the sex industry. Last week, she had called him to cash in her drink, exhausted with her work ensuring the released sex androids were equipped with human knowledge and understood their rights as living beings and what to do should anyone encroach on them. And looking at her now, she seems at ease. Androids are unable to mimic the stress lines, baggy eyes, and fatigue the way humans do, but there are other tells, such as cycling yellow LEDs, stutter movements and locked joints, and minor malfunctions in different processors. During their campaign to free her models, she had been experiencing all of these, they all had though not to her level, and now. Now she’s running at peak performance, movements smooth, processors seemingly working at 100% and Josh finds that he doesn’t mind how loud North is being or her violent mannerisms occasionally causing her to jab him or the increasing smacks against his arm- _Why does she have to be so violent, even when casual?_ Josh laments as increased warnings pop up in his vision- as she gets excited recounting her victory in finally pinning Connor down in a spar for almost a full 30 seconds.

When he sees her now, he feels hopeful. They still have a long way to go but, seeing her succeed gives him hope for the rest of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't expecting North, but I am very happy to have her here. Her and Josh's relationship is one of my favourite things as well. It's a shame that North and Connor got to have a moment with Josh but not Markus. That's Ok though because I'm really happy with how this turned out.
> 
> And with that, we are done with the prompts! There's a free day, tomorrow, and maybe I'll give it a shot if I feel inspired but this is the official last prompt! Thank all y'all for going with me on this journey and for all the others that participated! Extra brownie points for Krupka who sparked this idea and through sheer force of will, determination, and hella memes, got this week going! Check out Krupka @[Krupka123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krupka123/pseuds/Krupka123%22). Blessings to Lisa for giting me and Krupka her wonderful prompts! You can check her out @[Lisa_Lisa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lisa_Lisa/pseuds/Lisa_Lisa). Finally, check out the [Josh Appreciation Week](https://www.tumblr.com/search/josh+appreciation+week) tag on tumblr, for the more artistic renditions of these prompts!! 
> 
> Please come join us on [Josh's ASS Server](https://discord.gg/7QVtz86) to appreciate Josh more!
> 
> Blessing upon ye!
> 
> PS. Holy ish finally awake enough to figure out links.


End file.
